Interludes
by Koi no Soshan
Summary: Small snippets on the Gym Leaders, their lives, and their duties. Misc. one-shots/drabbles, Gen. NEWEST: Mikan lets steel and rock say what she can't. Mikan/Jasmine
1. Duty

**Introduction:** The Interlude Series is basically just a set of random drabbles and snippets on the Gym Leaders, all Gen and game-verse. Here on FFN I'm posting them under one story title in order to save space on my profile. Since I've never been fond of re-naming characters in translations, I'm using the Japanese names for the characters, but I'm sticking to the English names for the Pokemon. I'm also assuming that most trainers would name their Pokemon- we name our pets rather than call them 'dog' or 'cat', after all.

*bows* I hope some of these ficlets manage to be of entertainment!

**=o=**

**Title:** Duty

**Character(s):** Natsume (Sabrina)

**Summary:** Natsume dislikes battle, but she has her reasons for accepting it.

**Notes:** The name for Natsume's first Abra was a bit of a random choice- Inoru means 'to pray' in Japanese.

**Disclaimer:** Pokemon is the property of Tajiri Satoshi and Nintendo. No profit is made from this fanwork.

* * *

_-+Duty+-_

Natsume has never actually cared much for fighting.

Her connection with psychic Pokemon began when her powers first manifested- they understood the paths her mind took more clearly than herself, at first, and she was grateful for their company and guidance.

At first she was not a _trainer_, either, not in any traditional sense. She and Inoru- her first Abra- practiced techniques together, and soon she was teleporting nearly everywhere. It's as simple as moving from one point in a plane to another- distance is only an abstract concept which the mind can overcome.

She doesn't like battle. All _here_ and _now_ and fast reactions and physical strength. Natsume exists in the mind, in something which will never die and which can rise above the petty concerns of the physical world.

Most people, however, enjoy battles, and an unfortunate number of them also enjoy doing harm to others. Self-defense is important, so Natsume and Inoru have learned to fight. They can throw attackers away with a single thought, and freeze them with another. She builds walls to protect her Pokemon from attackers, although they aren't exactly walls. She's had students in her Gym who think of them as veils, fences, or even the gulf of a valley, separating the two sides. Inoru thinks of her walls instead as the division that exists between two minds when they close themselves to each other.

Gym Leaders protect and train others, preparing them for the future (_the future which she can see for them, and watching its twists is one reason to keep a thought on the outside world_). It's the perfect position for her, and she's willing to accept battling as part of her duties. A great challenge from her will prepare trainers for future challenges and dangers, she remembers constantly, and unthinking her dislike of battle from time to time is worth fulfilling her duty.


	2. Voice for the Voiceless

**Note:** Mikan is Jasmine's Japanese name.

* * *

_-+Voice for the Voiceless+-_

All her life, Mikan has felt that she doesn't have anything worthwhile to say.

Too meek, too shy, too quiet, too everything that she can't help being… From other children picking on her to adults telling her that she should be more outgoing, Mikan has only ever been given more reason to withdraw into herself. Sometimes she still watches Shuckle on the beach and wishes that she could hide her head the way they do.

She grew up in a large town, and when the starter Pokemon were given out, she stood back. There weren't enough, and the professor ended up taking pity on her and giving her a Rock Pokemon whose trainer had abandoned it. It was…

Everyone had said they were an odd match, and they did appear to be. She had still been small then, and her Onix towered over her, though he was young as well. Her voice was quiet, and she had difficulty giving him commands. When she succeeded in speaking, it couldn't be heard over the clangs of battle.

But even so, they grew close, and Onix defended her. Mikan has never felt safer than when he places himself in front of her, stone-now-steel coils shielding her from the world. Defense is their expertise, one of the few things she feels she might dare be proud of.

And when Onix attacks, she feels…

His attacks are loud and clanging, and to her, the sound is beautiful. It's emotion. Rage, frustration, hurt… These are the feelings which Mikan can never express for herself, but when she battles, she feels that her Pokemon are expressing them for her.


End file.
